ron3637

I am curious. Does anyone have any data re the difference in operating costs for a 50 vs. a 65 gallon elecrtic water heater on a percentage basis all things being equal. thanks

gmicken

You may want to look at the tags on the water heaters. The energy saving water heaters are very well insulated. I have a 65 gallon in my home, we have 4 adults with 2 wash machines, one dishwasher and at night we never run out of water, two showers at a time at night and in the morning. The 50 gallon would not have been big enough for us. The annual cost was not that big of a difference to worry about. If we put a 50 gallon in it may have not been able to keep up. Good luck. G

Redwood

As far as the cost of heating the water you use there is no difference.
The cost of raising the temperature of a gallon of water from 70 to 120 degrees F is the same no matter what. However if you start taking longer showers because you have more water available then it will cost you more.

In todays water heaters most have a good amount of foam insulation. This helps prevent standby heat loss which has been reduced to a very small amount. The only difference you will see is the difference in loss because of the larger surface area of the tank. So you are looking at an inconsequential amount of an inconsequential amount....

Bottom line is properly size the water heater to match your hot water needs.

In your situation you may want to look at heat pump water heaters. Ge Heat Pump Water Heater